Written by Brien Krug
Turks Staff Writer
July 8, 2021
The Turks were looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking walk off loss at Charlottesville as they hosted the Staunton Braves in a pivotal South Division matchup and bounce back they did in front of a great crowd thanks to our sponsor of the night, EVERENCE Financial.
The Turks would start the scoring in the home half of the first. A single from Peyton Crispin quickly, a pass ball and a RBI single from Michael Rosario would get Harrisonburg started but they weren’t done yet. After a caught stealing for the 2nd out, Hartigan and Sweeney would combine for a two out rally thanks to a hit by pitch and a double off the top of the right field wall respectively.
The Braves would respond right back in the 2nd. With 1 out Staunton’s Gabe Jennings would lace a double out to dead center scoring Cole Ragone, who walked in the previous at bat and all of a sudden the Turks lead was cut in half. However, after that rally Turks starter, newly named VBL All Star, Andres Rodriguez, would settle down and not allow a single baserunner to reach 2nd base over his final 4 innings of work.
The Turks would strike again in both the 4th and 5th innings. In the 4th Harrisonburg would put together a two out rally. Back to back walks to Michael Dansky and Clay Lockett had the Turks threatening with Peyton Crispin coming up. Crispin would step up and knock a double to left center scoring Dansky and leaving runners at 2nd and 3rd for the red hot Michael Rosario. Rosario, who was coming off a 2 for 3 day with a 3 run bomb, would lace a single out to left center scoring both Lockett and Crispin for his 3rd RBI in the game and 6th in the last two days.
Bryce Safferwich would then get another rally started in the 5th with a 5 pitch walk which was quickly followed up with a single from Marte and after the ball was misplayed by Braves right fielder Ian Diaz, Safferwich would come all the way around from first to score and the floodgates were starting to open. A single from Travis Reifsnider and advancement on the throw would set the stage for Michael Dansky. Dansky, who arrived late after helping the Wingate Bulldogs win their 1st NCAA DII championship in school history, would line a single up the middle for his first hit and RBI’s of the VBL season and extending the Turks lead to 8-1.
Jackson Dennies would relieve Rodriguez in the 7th and shut down the Braves over the next 3 innings, only allowing 2 hits and striking out 7 batters. The Turks would add another insurance run in the 8th on a RBI groundout from Peyton Crispin to win 9-1 and inch closer to the .500 mark.
The Turks (13-14) will be back in action tomorrow when they host the Covington Lumberjacks (7-20) for only the 2nd time of the year with first pitch slated for 7:30 PM.